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Comments
I had the same question. According to my dealer, the $4,000 incentive was never available for ED. It did not come out until after they stopped production and/or were not taking any new build orders. I'm not sure about the 1.9% financing.
corkdsp1:
A "non-refundable" deposit of any amount cannot be legally binding unless it is a valid "two-party contract". Since the dealer cannot guarantee you an outside delivery date or even the price of the vehicle, there is no way the deposit would be deemed non-refundable in court. However, on the practical side, I agree with Shipo and would find another dealer. The fact that this one would even ask for a $2,500 non-refundable deposit not only shows ignorance of the law, but disregard for integrity and customer relations. I wouldn't give them my business.
Regarding scheduling an ED for a 530i in E39 trim, I am not sure if the factory has stopped producing the E39 yet (something in the back of my head says that E39 production was stopped in June so BMW could start the re-tooling process). If it is still in production for the remainder of this month, there might still be a chance of you getting a car ready for an August or September ED trip. What you would have to do would be to find a dealer that has a car in the pipeline and not yet built, and then have them arrange to swap that car with the ED pool. Given the timing, even if the E39 is still being produced, my guess is that the chances of setting this up are very small, but it might be worth a try.
Best Regards,
Shipo
i won't be autocrossing even if i were to buy 325 but i feel as though i need to drive 3-series before i move up to 5-series... maybe it's a stupid reason but i don't want to be in my 40's or 50's and wanting to drive 3-series in retrospect... but then again, there seem to be so many good deals on 5 series(2003 that is) that it is really tempting...
well, guess i need to sleep on it and make the decision. : )
thanks.
sleepdoc
to 330iii: I can't remember if Shipo already said this but from I have read the 5er's are also more reliable (see Consumer Reports... fro what it's worth. I am in the same boat as you now, except I am in my late 40's already. When I 30, I had a BMW 528e. I was looking at the 3er's mainly on price issue and they seemed like they would be more fun to drive. I have not driven a 530iA yet, but I can't imagine it will be a let down. I still am concerned about the reliability after warranty as well as the trips to dealer even for the stuff that is covered. Closer dealer will be 20 minutes away, where as my Toyota dealer (which I only visit to get an oil change and a free donut) is 2 miles away from my office! My wife thinks I am absolutely out of mind ("What's your point honey?") getting rid of a reliable 2001 Camry at half the payments of the BMW, with a daily commute of 5 miles with a top speed of 40 mph (vrrooooom).
Is there any other confused old farts out there, or is this a bunch of young wild & crazy guys who still hair to blow in the wind?
I can't help you with the 5 vs. 3 question, as I'm almost too tall for the 5 and the 3 is out of the question. Nevertheless, if you can swing the BMW price, lose the Camry (yawn).
Remember, handling NEVER goes out of style.
Jack
I have been offerd the following deal on 525 standard with leatherette interior.. No special packages on top of it.
Manual Trans : 32800
Auto Trans : 34010
Is this a good deal? Also, the financing is about 5.49 APR..
Thanks in advance.
Raj
I think any 5-series at $2,000+ under invoice is a great deal. On the financing, you can also do a home equity loan and get about 5.5% that is tax deductable interest (net rate equivalent of 3.5% +/-).
As the big 6-0 approaches, I've wondered if the next car will be the last one, and do I want it to be a Subaru? Not!
Wifey says CR loves the BMW; then, when we heard of the rebate she says "Go for the 540" Gotta love that girl!
Bought a loaded 540 for $3K under invoice and couldn't be happier.
Rajbas, I agree with Habitat 1. Also, look into local credit unions. 3.49% deal still offered in my town.
Also, what this I hear about Dinan?
CPO is a great way to go. I've been pleased with both my CPO purchases. What year 530ia are you looking for? 2002? 2003? When you get ready, use BMW NA's CPO locator. That can speed up your search.
What about Dinan? Great company that provides a ton of good high performance modifications for BMWs. Believe Dinan now also has a CPO program.
I washed the vehicle today (extra careful) and letting my hand glide ever so gently over the paint and found a rough area. It extends from on top of the left rear door roof area to about a foot above the rear wheel. Approx. 2 to 3in wide. It is dull and cloudy looking. It feels like a real fine sandpaper. Could not believe it not my bimmer.
Did the factory miss the area with paint and or clear coat?
What could be done about it? Sure would hate them to paint the area..
Only have 725mi......
Thanks
On average, how much are you paying for service (oil changes, 10k, 20k, 30k maintenance cycles)?
Don't forget that BMW provides free 3/36 maintenance for '01 and '02 years. You can pay to upgrade that to 4/50 coverage. The '03s now come standard with 4/50 coverage.
You can stop by your local BMW dealer(s) and ask them how much they charge. Biggest scheduled items are the oil service (which isn't too expensive, but the BMWs do use a lot of synthetic oil), Schedule 1, and Schedule 2. Dealer likely can give you a price quote. My local BMW dealer has service price sheet covering nearly all the major and minor work you could think of. Normal schedule is oil service (15K), Sch 1 (30K), oil service (45K), and Sch 2 (60K), and then start over. Plus brake fluid changes every 2 years and coolant changes every 3 years. Oxygen sensor at 100K. The car's monitoring system will alert you to brake pad changes.
Join BMW CCA and most BMW dealers will give you at least a 10 percent discount on parts.
Besides, worse things can happen. Last week, my wife hung up the front end on a low curb. When she backed off, the left side of the rubber lip tore through the mounting hole on the bumper cover and became detached. Also, the panel that forms the bottom half of the front wheel well tore off, and the back edge of the bumper now juts out. I reinforced the torn mounting point and managed to reattach the rubber lip so it no longer hangs loose, but the bumper cover was deformed downward at that point, and still looks like crap. I haven't taken it to a bodyshop yet -- I hope to get away without replacing the bumper cover.
Once the damage is repaired (or before), I'm considering removing the rubber lip to reduce the chance of it getting hung up and causing future damage to the bumper. It appears to be attached by only three screws. Does anyone know what purpose it serves?
You should take control of the situation by filling the oil to the top, verify it yourself, then monitor it.
It's quite possible that your car never had the oil topped up properly.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
driller2 -- I don't think the lip is an early warning device, since in my experience it doesn't make any noise until you're backing off -- too late. As for hiding the scratches on the bumper cover, touch up paint should be good enough to eliminate visual evidence unless you're up close.
Also, during my daily 20 plus mile commute each way to work on a major Los Angeles Freeway (parking lot) I almost always see at least one and sometimes two M5's. Almost never the same ones each day. Always there was a male driver, some young (20's) and some a little older (30s to 50s). I was just curious of the demographics of 5-series drivers. Is there any published statistics of the sex split and average age of the purchasers of these cars? Plus, there is probably a difference between a typical M5 purchaser and a 525 purchaser.
IIHS gives E39 5 Series a "Best Pick" rating. Excerpt:
"The [IIHS] has evaluated the crashworthiness of the 540i in a 40 mph frontal offset crash test into a deformable barrier.
OVERALL EVALUATION: GOOD The driver space was maintained well in the frontal offset crash test, and measures indicate that significant injury was unlikely.
STRUCTURE/SAFETY CAGE: GOOD There was minimal intrusion into the driver footwell area and minimal rearward movement of the instrument panel.
RESTRAINTS/DUMMY KINEMATICS: GOOD Dummy movement was well controlled. After the dummy moved forward into the airbag, it rebounded into the seat without its head coming close to any stiff structure that could cause injury.
INJURY MEASURES: HEAD/NECK GOOD Measures taken from the head, neck, chest, and both legs indicate low risk of injury to these body regions.
IIHS gives E46 3 Series a "Best Pick" rating. Excerpt:
The [IIHS] has evaluated the crashworthiness of a BMW 328i with the structural changes in a 40 mph frontal offset crash test into a deformable barrier.
OVERALL EVALUATION: GOOD The driver space was maintained well in the frontal offset crash test, and measures indicate that significant injury was unlikely.
STRUCTURE/SAFETY CAGE: GOOD There was minimal to moderate intrusion into the driver footwell area and minimal rearward movement of the instrument panel.
RESTRAINTS/DUMMY KINEMATICS: ACCEPTABLE Dummy movement was reasonably well controlled. However, the dummy's head contacted the steering wheel through the airbag. During rebound, the top of the head contacted the roof rail between the A- and B-pillars.
INJURY MEASURES: GOOD Measures taken from the head, neck, chest, and both legs indicate low risk of injury to these body regions. Head accelerations from the steering wheel and roof rail contacts were low.
There is a worldwide New Car Crash Test Assessment Program. USA, Australia, Japan, and Europe. Each has a great website.
It so happens that I was surveyed several months ago by a market research firm doing demographic anlaysis of "high end" car buyers. As a courtesy, they shared with me the results of their findings. Unfortunately I tossed them, but seem to recall that, for the M5, average age was late 40's, median household income was $500,000 and median net worth was $6 million. Note these are median figures, not "means", which would be substantially higher.
A couple of other tidbits I recall: median net worth of Ferrari 360 buyers was $12 million, with an average age of mid 40's. Bentley buyers median net worth was $30 million and average age was mid 50's.
Ford products have 5 star frontal impact scores) however their offset scores did not garner the same. Older style vehicles tend to not do well with the side impact test because there was not an incentive to increase the side impact strenth, no one really cared to test it. Now with the new emphasis on side impact and offset impact, there will be a new emphasis on the structural integrity of the next round of new vehicles. I personally look at the frontal impact scores in conjunction with offset and side impact scores. However, these scores do not necessarily make or break a car buying decision. You may notice that cars that do well on the frontal impact testing do not necessarily do well on the offset impact.
The recent rebates now have me looking a the 530i. Considering my above opinions on the 3er, will the extra 200 pounds of the 530i make the 5er seem short on power?
Thanks!
Never heard anyone say the 530i manual wasn't quick. Quick enough? That depends. Certainly not M3 or M5 quick. Or even 540i6 quick. But likely quick enough for 95 percent of the world.
So the first litre got me 3,250 mi, the second about 7,200 mi, and after oil change the next litre 8,800 mi. 5-30 grade oil was used so far. I will ask for 5-40 oil which is also recommended for the next oil change. The oil consumption should be lower and engine protection better at the cost of slight increase in fuel consumption.
I hope this helps.